Medical Marijuana Debate on Yahoo! News Photos

Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, center, testifies about medical ...

(AP) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:23:20 GMT

(AP) - Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, center, testifies about medical marijuana before the Senate Health & Human Services Committee at the Capitol in Denver on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010. Romer sponsored a bill aimed at preventing doctors from issuing medical marijuana recommendations to recreational users. Senator Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, left, and Dr. Ned Calonge, right, Chief Medical Officer for the Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment, listens after he testified. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

A staff member talks with Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, ...

(AP) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:22:42 GMT

(AP) - A staff member talks with Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, left, prior to his testimony on medical marijuana before the Senate Health & Human Services Committee at the Capitol in Denver on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Senator Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood, chair of the Senate Health & ...

(AP) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:22:15 GMT

(AP) - Senator Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood, chair of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee, listens to testimony about medical marijuana during a hearing at the Capitol in Denver on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010.(AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Attorney Robert Corry testifies before the Senate Health & Human ...

(AP) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:21:54 GMT

(AP) - Attorney Robert Corry testifies before the Senate Health & Human Services Committee at the Capitol in Denver on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010. The committee is considering a bill aimed at preventing doctors from issuing medical marijuana recommendations to recreational users. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Medical marijuana user Jim Mandel, of Denver testifies about ...

(AP) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:21:33 GMT

(AP) - Medical marijuana user Jim Mandel, of Denver testifies about marijuana use before the Senate Health & Human Services Committee at the Capitol in Denver on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010. The committee is considering a bill aimed at preventing doctors from issuing medical marijuana recommendations to recreational users. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Medical marijuana user Jason Ellingson, center, of Boulder, ...

(AP) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:20:15 GMT

(AP) - Medical marijuana user Jason Ellingson, center, of Boulder, Colo., testifies before the Senate Health & Human Services Committee at the Capitol in Denver on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010. The committee is considering a bill aimed at preventing doctors from issuing medical marijuana recommendations to recreational users. Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, the sponsor of the bill, listens at left. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Signs advertising medical marijuana presciptions are seen outside ...

(AFP/File) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:58:36 GMT

(AFP/File) - Signs advertising medical marijuana presciptions are seen outside an evaluation clinic on Venice Beach. Los Angeles has given final approval to an ordinance slashing the number of medical marijuana dispensaries, which have grown to almost 1,000 since sale of the drug for medicinal use was approved in 1996.(AFP/File/Mark Ralston)

Yamileth Bolanos, who runs Pure Life Alternative Wellness Center, ...

(AP) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 02:28:05 GMT

(AP) - Yamileth Bolanos, who runs Pure Life Alternative Wellness Center, selects a vial of marijuana for a client at her store in Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010. The day feared by medical marijuana advocates arrived Tuesday when the City Council approved an ordinance intended to close hundreds of pot shops and banish those that remain to industrial areas. Bolanos said she'll have to close her clinic to comply with the new restrictions, then reopen at a new location nine miles away. The new law, which passed 9-3, caps the eventual number of dispensaries in the city at 70. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

A person enters the Pure Life Alternative Wellness Center, in ...

(AP) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:48:00 GMT

(AP) - A person enters the Pure Life Alternative Wellness Center, in Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010. The day feared by medical marijuana advocates arrived Tuesday when the City Council approved an ordinance intended to close hundreds of pot shops and banish those that remain to industrial areas. Yamileth Bolanos, who operates Pure Life, said she'll have to close her clinic to comply with the new restrictions, then reopen at a new location nine miles away. The new law, which passed 9-3, caps the eventual number of dispensaries in the city at 70. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Yamileth Bolanos, who runs Pure Life Alternative Wellness Center, ...

(AP) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:38:21 GMT

(AP) - Yamileth Bolanos, who runs Pure Life Alternative Wellness Center, helps a client with a marijuana selection at her store in Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010. The day feared by medical marijuana advocates arrived Tuesday when the City Council approved an ordinance intended to close hundreds of pot shops and banish those that remain to industrial areas. Bolanos said she'll have to close her clinic to comply with the new restrictions, then reopen at a new location nine miles away. The new law, which passed 9-3, caps the eventual number of dispensaries in the city at 70. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Yamileth Bolanos, who runs Pure Life Alternative Wellness Center, ...

(AP) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:37:52 GMT

(AP) - Yamileth Bolanos, who runs Pure Life Alternative Wellness Center, poses at her store in Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010. The day feared by medical marijuana advocates arrived Tuesday when the City Council approved an ordinance intended to close hundreds of pot shops and banish those that remain to industrial areas. Bolanos said she'll have to close her clinic to comply with the new restrictions, then reopen at a new location nine miles away. The new law, which passed 9-3, caps the eventual number of dispensaries in the city at 70. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Yamileth Bolanos, who runs Pure Life Alternative Wellness Center, ...

(AP) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:37:20 GMT

(AP) - Yamileth Bolanos, who runs Pure Life Alternative Wellness Center, poses in her lounge area, where patients previously were allowed to medicate on site, but now cannot be used, at her store in Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010. The day feared by medical marijuana advocates arrived Tuesday when the City Council approved an ordinance intended to close hundreds of pot shops and banish those that remain to industrial areas. Bolanos said she'll have to close her clinic to comply with the new restrictions, then reopen at a new location nine miles away. The new law, which passed 9-3, caps the eventual number of dispensaries in the city at 70. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Yamileth Bolanos, who runs Pure Life Alternative Wellness Center, ...

(AP) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:36:54 GMT

(AP) - Yamileth Bolanos, who runs Pure Life Alternative Wellness Center, holds a vial of marijuana known as Jupiter Kush, at her store in Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010. The day feared by medical marijuana advocates arrived Tuesday when the City Council approved an ordinance intended to close hundreds of pot shops and banish those that remain to industrial areas. Bolanos said she'll have to close her clinic to comply with the new restrictions, then reopen at a new location nine miles away. The new law, which passed 9-3, caps the eventual number of dispensaries in the city at 70. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Medical marijuana is displayed in Los Angeles in this August ...

(Reuters) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:18:59 GMT

(Reuters) - Medical marijuana is displayed in Los Angeles in this August 6, 2007 file photo. The Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance on January 26, 2010 that will shut down hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries and require them to be at least 1,000 feet (300 meters) from schools, public parks, libraries or churches. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

A pedestrian walks past a marijuana leaf neon sign advertising ...

(AP) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:48:59 GMT

(AP) - A pedestrian walks past a marijuana leaf neon sign advertising a medical marijuana provider along a street in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles, Calif. on Tuesday Jan. 26, 2010. Tuesday the LA City Council approved an ordinance that will close hundreds of clinics while those that remain said they would be banished to industrial areas forcing their clients to travel longer distances. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Medical marijuana is displayed in Los Angeles in this August ...

(Reuters) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:36:28 GMT

A bag of medical marijuana is shown at Oaksterdam University, ...

(Reuters) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:07:49 GMT

(Reuters) - A bag of medical marijuana is shown at Oaksterdam University, a trade school for the cannabis industry, in Oakland, California July 23, 2009. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Medical marijuana is displayed in Los Angeles August 6, 2007. ...

(Reuters) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 02:47:40 GMT

(Reuters) - Medical marijuana is displayed in Los Angeles August 6, 2007. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Kalamazoo police officers Chad Vanderklok (L) and Cory Ghiringelli ...

(Reuters) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:55:00 GMT

(Reuters) - Kalamazoo police officers Chad Vanderklok (L) and Cory Ghiringelli execute a search warrant for illegal marijuana as they search a home for drugs in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in this November 12, 2009 file picture. At a time of soaring deficits, more states are seeking to decriminalize marijuana, at least in medical use. Today, more than a dozen states allow the sale of pot to the sick. Picture taken November 12, 2009. To match feature DRUGS/USA-CONSUMPTION REUTERS/John Gress/Files (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW SOCIETY HEALTH)

Kalamazoo police officer Chad Vanderklok executes a search warrant ...

(Reuters) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:53:54 GMT

(Reuters) - Kalamazoo police officer Chad Vanderklok executes a search warrant for marijuana as he and other officers search a home for illegal drugs in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in this November 12, 2009 file picture. At a time of soaring deficits, more states are seeking to decriminalize marijuana, at least in medical use. Today, more than a dozen states allow the sale of pot to the sick. Picture taken November 12, 2009. To match feature DRUGS/USA-CONSUMPTION REUTERS/John Gress/Files (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW HEALTH)

Handcuffed suspect Gerald Ware (C) watches as Kalamazoo police ...

(Reuters) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:47:23 GMT

(Reuters) - Handcuffed suspect Gerald Ware (C) watches as Kalamazoo police officers catalog evidence in the midst of the execution of a search warrant for marijuana during a raid in search of illegal drugs in Ware's home in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in this November 12, 2009 file picture. At a time of soaring deficits, more states are seeking to decriminalize marijuana, at least in medical use. Today, more than a dozen states allow the sale of pot to the sick. Picture taken November 12, 2009. To match feature DRUGS/USA-CONSUMPTION REUTERS/John Gress/Files (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW HEALTH)

Suspect Gerald Ware (R) stands handcuffed in the doorway of ...

(Reuters) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:46:15 GMT

(Reuters) - Suspect Gerald Ware (R) stands handcuffed in the doorway of his home as police conduct a raid in search of illegal drugs during the execution of a search warrant for marijuana in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in this November 12, 2009 file picture. At a time of soaring deficits, more states are seeking to decriminalize marijuana, at least in medical use. Today, more than a dozen states allow the sale of pot to the sick. Picture taken November 12, 2009. To match feature DRUGS/USA-CONSUMPTION REUTERS/John Gress/Files (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW HEALTH)

Suspect Gerald Ware (C) is handcuffed by Kalamazoo police officer ...

(Reuters) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:44:04 GMT

(Reuters) - Suspect Gerald Ware (C) is handcuffed by Kalamazoo police officer Bob Hug (R) as officer Cory Ghiringelli (L) and captain Joseph Taylor (rear) look on in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in this November 12, 2009 file picture. Police found two bags of what they believed to be marijuana in the man's trunk as they were executing a search warrant for illegal drugs. At a time of soaring deficits, more states are seeking to decriminalize marijuana, at least in medical use. Today, more than a dozen states allow the sale of pot to the sick. Picture taken November 12, 2009. To match feature DRUGS/USA-CONSUMPTION REUTERS/John Gress/Files (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW HEALTH)

Kalamazoo police officer Bob Hug holds two bags believed to ...

(Reuters) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:39:38 GMT

(Reuters) - Kalamazoo police officer Bob Hug holds two bags believed to be marijuana after finding them in the trunk of a man's car while executing a search warrant for illegal drugs in Kalamazoo, Michigan in this November 12, 2009 file picture. At a time of soaring deficits, more states are seeking to decriminalize marijuana, at least in medical use. Today, more than a dozen states allow the sale of pot to the sick. Picture taken November 12, 2009. To match feature DRUGS/USA-CONSUMPTION REUTERS/John Gress/Files (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW HEALTH)

Handcuffed suspect Gerald Ware (L) looks on while Kalamazoo ...

(Reuters) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:38:22 GMT

(Reuters) - Handcuffed suspect Gerald Ware (L) looks on while Kalamazoo police officer Matt Elzinga catalogs evidence as police officers execute a search warrant for marijuana during a raid in search of illegal drugs in Ware's Kalamazoo, Michigan, in this November 12, 2009 file picture. At a time of soaring deficits, more states are seeking to decriminalize marijuana, at least in medical use. Today, more than a dozen states allow the sale of pot to the sick. Picture taken November 12, 2009. To match feature DRUGS/USA-CONSUMPTION REUTERS/John Gress/Files (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW HEALTH)

Handcuffed suspect Gerald Ware (L) watches as police officer ...

(Reuters) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:37:19 GMT

(Reuters) - Handcuffed suspect Gerald Ware (L) watches as police officer Matt Elzinga places a bag believed to be filled with marijuana into an envelope, as he catalogs evidence during the execution of a search warrant for illegal drugs in Ware's home in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in this November 12, 2009 file picture. At a time of soaring deficits, more states are seeking to decriminalize marijuana, at least in medical use. Today, more than a dozen states allow the sale of pot to the sick. Picture taken November 12, 2009. To match feature DRUGS/USA-CONSUMPTION REUTERS/John Gress/Files (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW HEALTH)

Suspect Gerald Ware stands handcuffed in his home as police ...

(Reuters) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:37:13 GMT

(Reuters) - Suspect Gerald Ware stands handcuffed in his home as police conduct a raid in search of illegal drugs during the execution of a search warrant for marijuana in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in this November 12, 2009 file picture. At a time of soaring deficits, more states are seeking to decriminalize marijuana, at least in medical use. Today, more than a dozen states allow the sale of pot to the sick. Picture taken November 12, 2009. To match feature DRUGS/USA-CONSUMPTION REUTERS/John Gress/Files (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW SOCIETY)

Handcuffed suspect Gerald Ware (C) watches as police officers ...

(Reuters) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:36:08 GMT

(Reuters) - Handcuffed suspect Gerald Ware (C) watches as police officers catalog evidence and search the premises during the execution of a search warrant for illegal drugs at Ware's home in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in this November 12, 2009 file picture. At a time of soaring deficits, more states are seeking to decriminalize marijuana, at least in medical use. Today, more than a dozen states allow the sale of pot to the sick. Picture taken November 12, 2009. To match feature DRUGS/USA-CONSUMPTION REUTERS/John Gress/Files (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW)

FILE - In this Nov. 17, 2009 file photo, traditional canning ...

(AP) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:16:59 GMT

(AP) - FILE - In this Nov. 17, 2009 file photo, traditional canning jars hold varieties of marijuana in a cabinet at the La Brea Collective medical marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles City Council is poised to vote on a medical marijuana ordinance after months of hammering out criteria that would shutter hundreds of dispensaries. Council members will take up the issue once again Tuesday Jan. 19, 2010. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

In this Jan. 11, 2010 photo, a worker shows a marijuana bud ...

(AP) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:39:51 GMT

(AP) - In this Jan. 11, 2010 photo, a worker shows a marijuana bud for sale at the Lotus Medical dispensary in Denver. Colorado lawmakers will decide this session whether to regulate the booming medical marijuana industry, including preventing doctors from making money for referring patients to dispensaries, criminal background checks and limiting the number of patients a dispensary can tend to. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)